SEND information

SEND Information Report for Eastgate Academy 2016-17

Part of the Norfolk Local Offer for Learners with SEND

Introduction

Welcome to Eastgate Academy SEN Information Report. It is part of the Norfolk Local Offer for learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). All governing bodies of maintained schools and maintained nursery schools and the proprietors of academy schools have a legal duty to publish information on their website about the implementation of the governing bodies’ or the proprietor’s, policy for pupils with SEND. The information published must be updated annually. The required information is set out in the draft SEN regulations which can be found here.

At Eastgate Academy we are committed to working together with all members of our school community. This local offer has been produced with pupils, parents/carers, governors and members of staff. We welcome your feedback and future involvement in the review of our offer, so please contact us. The best people to contact this year are:

– Claire Gosling – SEND Governor

– Fiona Whyman – Inclusion Manager

– Linda Hothersall – Principal

-Robert Hothersall – SEND Co-ordinator (SENDco)

If you have specific questions about the Norfolk Local Offer please look at the frequently asked questions here. Alternatively, if you think your child may have SEND please speak to their class teacher, Mr Hothersall (SENDCo) or Fiona Whyman, our Inclusion Manager, on 01553 773088.

Our Approach to Teaching Learners with SEN

At Eastgate Academy we believe in participation for all. We want all adults and children to participate in learning and we celebrate all members of our community. We want to create an inclusive culture in our academy and we aim to be responsive to the diversity of children’s backgrounds, interests, experience, knowledge and skills.

We value high quality teaching for all learners and actively monitor teaching and learning in the academy.

We aim to create a learning environment which is flexible enough to meet the needs of all members of our academy community. We monitor the progress of all learners, and staff continually assess to ensure that learning is taking place. Our whole school system for monitoring progress includes regular pupil progress meetings, and staff engage in coaching and supervision.

If a learner is identified as having SEN, we will arrange provision that is ‘additional to or different from’ the normal differentiated curriculum, intended to overcome the barrier to their learning.

At Eastgate Academy we are committed to ensuring that all learners have access to learning opportunities, and for those who are at risk of not learning, we will intervene. This does not mean that all vulnerable learners have SEND. Only those with a learning difficulty that requires special educational provision will be identified as having SEND.

Our SEN profile for 2016- 17 shows that:

22.9% of our learners are identified as having SEN. (National Average 14.4%)

1.5% of our learners (6.6% of those who are identified as having SEN) have either a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education Health and Care Plan. (National Average 2.8%)

Of the children identified as having SEN

36% of our learners are identified as having SEN linked to Cognition and Learning, a 2% increase on last year.

11.5% of our learners are identified as having SEN linked to Communication and Interaction, a 0.5% reduction on last year.

11.5% of our learners are identified as having SEN linked to Physical and Sensory, a 1.5% reduction on last year.

41% of our learners are identified as having SEN linked to social, Emotional and Mental Health, a 25% increase on last year.

Assessing SEND at Eastgate Academy

Class teachers, teaching assistants, parents/carers and the learner themselves will be the first to notice a difficulty with learning. At Eastgate Academy we ensure that assessment of educational needs, directly involves the learner, their parents/carers and, of course, their teacher. The Inclusion Manager will also support with the identification of barriers to learning.

For some learners we may want to seek advice from specialist teams. In our school and cluster we have access to various specialist services. We have access to services universally provided by Norfolk County Council which are described on the Local Offer Website available here.

This academic year (2016-17), Eastgate Academy has also commissioned support from:

– Educational Psychology Service

– Rosebery Short Stay School (behaviour support)

– Speech & Language Specialist

– Child Development Team

– Sensory Support

– Specialist Learning Support Teacher

How we use our Teaching Assistants

Teaching Assistants of Eastgate Academy are used to:

– assist the teacher in providing ‘quality first teaching’

– support the teachers in enabling children with SEND to have access to an

appropriate curriculum

– encourage and promote independence in the children

– liaise with the Class Teacher

– help to prepare resources and adapt materials

– lead interventions to close the gap for children experiencing difficulty

– Promote the inclusion of all children in all aspects of life at school.

INTERVENTION:

Intervention is carried out by the school and is ‘additional to or different from’ the usual differentiated curriculum. It can take the form of:

using different learning materials in the classroom

making reasonable adjustments within the physical environment

making reasonable adjustments to routines

Support Staff in the classroom

a more focused level of support in a small group withdrawn from the class

focused work to be completed at home

What We Do to Support Learners with SEN at Eastgate Academy

Class Teachers have responsibility for enabling all pupils to learn. To achieve this they:

plan appropriate work/activities for their pupils

ensure that support is available for all children (inclusive ‘quality first’ teaching) differentiate the curriculum to take account of different learning styles, interests, abilities

ensure that all children can be included in tasks/activities

monitor individual progress

celebrate achievement

identify those children who require additional or different support in order to make progress

set targets and discuss with children and parents

Each learner identified as having SEN is entitled to support that is ‘additional to or different from’ a normal differentiated curriculum. The type of support is dependent on the individual learning needs, and is intended to enable access to learning and overcome the barrier to learning identified. This support is described on a provision map and describes the interventions and actions that we undertake at Eastgate Academy to support learners with SEN across the year groups. We review the provision map regularly, and it changes every year, as our learners and their needs change.

Our provision map is shared with Governors who are able to ensure that we monitor the impact of these interventions on learning across the school.

Funding for SEN

Eastgate Academy receives funding directly from the Educational Funding Agency (EFA) to support the needs of learners with SEND. This is described in the funding agreement the academy receives from the EFA. The amount of funding we have received for 2016-17 is £141,788.

The KESA cluster of schools also receive funding from the Local Authority which is distributed as ‘top up’ funding for learners who require support that exceeds that available to the school. In the calendar year 2016 the school has received over £20,000 in additional support for individual children and group projects.

The KESA cluster of schools are committed to working together to improve learning for all, and we are able to share resources, training and moderate provision for learners with SEN. If you would like any further information on SEN in the KES cluster please contact our co-ordinator, Mrs Jane Jewson at kescluster@eastgate.Norfolk.sch.uk

How Do We Find Out if this Support is Effective?

Monitoring progress is an integral part of teaching and leadership within Eastgate Academy. Parents/carers, pupils and staff are involved in reviewing the impact of interventions for learners with SEND. Before any additional provision is selected to help a child, SENDCo , teacher, parent/carer and learner agree what they expect to be different following this intervention. A baseline will also be recorded, which can be used to compare the impact of the provision.

Learners, parents/carers and their teaching and support staff will be directly involved in reviewing progress. These targets and judgements form the final section of children’s SEND Support Plans, which are reviewed at least termly. If a learner has a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education Health and Care Plan (EHC plan,) the same termly review conversations take place, but the EHC plan will also be formally reviewed annually.

The SENDCo collates the impact data of interventions, to ensure that we are only using interventions that work. Intervention data is shared with the Eastgate cluster so all SENCOs/Inclusion Managers in our cluster are able to select high quality provision.

Progress data of all learners is collated by the whole school and monitored by teachers, senior leaders and governors. Our school and cluster data is also monitored by the Local Authority and Ofsted.

What’s New in 2016-17?

During 2016 -17 we have improved our documentation for children with SEND and created a ‘School Support Plan’ for each child on the SEN register. This allows teachers to have more information about the children at their fingertips and fully ensures that children and parents ‘have a say’ in SEND decisions.

The school has identified a high level of need for children with ‘Speech and language’ difficulties and has put a plan in place to create a specialist Teaching Assistant to co-ordinate speech and language provision throughout the school.

Eastgate Academy is committed to improving the mental health of its pupils and has secured funding to implement a meditation/mindfulness programme for all children in years 5 and 6 and individual or paired sessions for children with an identified mental health need. The school is funding the construction of a purpose built cabin which will provide a restful environment to ensure that these sessions have maximum impact.

We have begun to prepare a ‘Sensory Room’ for children with sensory issues.

Other Opportunities for Learning

We provide a well-rounded Physical Education Curriculum at Eastgate Academy, including swimming for key stage 2, and make this accessible to our children.

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to ensure participation for all. Please contact the SENDco or Inclusion Manager if you feel that there are barriers to your child accessing extra-curricular clubs as a result of SEND.

All staff at Eastgate Academy have regular training on many areas including the Equality Act 2010. This legislation places specific duties on schools, settings and providers including the duty not to discriminate, harass or victimise a child or adult linked to a protected characteristic defined in the Equality Act and to make ‘reasonable adjustments’.

The Equality Act 2010 definition of disability is:

“A person has a disability for the purposes of this Act if (s)he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to day activities.”

Section 1(1) Disability Discrimination Act 1995

This definition of disability in the Equality Act includes children with long term health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, and cancer. Children and young people with such conditions do not necessarily have SEN, but there is a significant overlap between disabled children and young people and those with SEN. Children and young people may therefore be covered by both SEN and disability legislation.

For more information about the Equality Act, the protected characteristics or duties on public bodies, please visit the Government website here.

Preparing for the next step

Transition is a part of life for all learners. This can be transition to a new class in school, having a new teacher, or moving on to another school, training provider or moving in to employment. Eastgate Academy is committed to working in partnership with children, families and other providers to ensure positive transitions occur.

Planning for transition is a part of our provision for all learners with SEN. Moving classes will be discussed with you and your child at their summer term review meeting.

Transition to secondary schools will be discussed with your child giving them extra opportunities to discuss the move and have extra visits if needed.

Have your say

Eastgate Academy is our community school. We can shape and develop provision for all of our learners ensuring achievement for all. This SEND report declares our annual offer to learners with SEND, but to be effective it needs the views of all parents/carers, learners, governors and staff. Please feel free to come in and discuss this with us